Below are photos of her current look as well as over the years. With her new look, the Brazilian press was quick to slap the Beyonce label on her (as they’ve done with countless other black women in Brazil) calling her “A Beyoncé do Alemão” (The Beyoncé of Alemão, in reference to Complexo do Alemão, a group of 13 favelas (slums) in the north zone of Rio de Janeiro). Well, in reality, it was Roberta herself who said that the look was actually inspired by the American singer. Again the Beyonce thing. So what does this say about the world’s top black entertainer if she’s inspiring other black women to go blond, straight and weave? It’s funny, around 40 years ago, black American women inspired a very successful black Brazilian actress to accept her natural hair. More on that later in this post…For now, here’s the story on Roberta.

Despite some criticism, the actress is enjoying her new look: “I often say that there is a Roberta before and another after this hair.”

Roberta suffered criticism for straightening her hair

Straightening her hair for the first time, actress Roberta Rodrigues, who plays Maria Vanúbia on the novela Salve Jorge, is thrilled with the radical change in her visual, but confesses that she is hearing criticism about her new look. “There are people saying that I abandoned my roots. The origin has to do with one’s character and not the hair. I’m an actress, I have to change for the characters,” the actress said.

Despite some criticism, Roberta is finding everything wonderful. “I’m really enjoying it. It’s completely different from anything I’ve ever done. I often say that there is a Roberta before and another after this hair. I think people really notice blondes more. The hair really calls attention, it’s very funny.”

Roberta doesn’t hide the fact that she loves kinky/curly hair, but says that it is easier to take care of it straight. “Having straight hair is much easier. I wake up, take a bath, run my hand through my hair and I’m ready. Kiny/curly hair requires more care. You have to wash it, put cream in it, dry it with a towel and then use a hair diffuser,” she says.

To achieve this long-haired look, the actress enlisted the help of a weave that requires some caution: “I have to moisturize it a lot and use a special brush. All of the blonde parts are weave. I didn’t dye my hair because it would break everything and I could end up going bald!”

Rodrigues says that the concept of beauty in Complexo do Alemão is inspired by Beyonce. “They like blonde, straight hair. It (Alemão) has Beyonce as reference and they create amazing looks,” she said. “I felt very different, I’m more successful. The guys go crazy, it’s funny. I think that it’s a fetish for men. I put two things together: black and blonde. Now I use red lipstick because it matches. I’m loving myself blond and straight (hair).”

In an interview from July, the actress revealed that she thought of herself as ugly as a child and was the only black girl in a school she went to. But with the support of her father she overcame this bout of low self-esteem. The radical change of hair styles is an about face for Roberta as in that same interview she said that using a diffuser was great for her natural hair saying, “I love it! It leaves my hair super beautiful.” It seems that attention from the opposite sex and local beauty standards have a way of changing one’s tune.

On her latest character, Maria Vanúbia, Rodrigues says that she is abused and loves to appear and show off her body. “She always shows her body and speaks full of gesture. She’s enough all by her self”, she says, noting that the approach of writer Gloria Perez to the favela (shantytown) is real. “We see in the text care, affection. They’re scenes that don’t continue in the stereotype of the slum.”

Roberta as the “The Beyonce of the Alemão Complex”

So let’s consider a few things here. Number one, just curious, what does it say when the world’s top black female entertainer is inspiring women of African descent to go blond, straight and weave? The politics of black hair has also been debated in speaking of the First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama. Is this simply how it is or is it part of the sacrifice that women of African descent must make in order to reach the highest pinnacles of success? I won’t get into that here because it’s already been thoroughly debated. But I will say it’s intriguing to say the least. The most visible persons of African descent in the world are African-Americans, but even they must deny (or would it be sacrifice?) a part of themselves that signals African ancestry in order to achieve mainstream acceptance. Consider this interesting and ironic story.

Actress Zezé Motta

Zezé Motta (above) is one of Brazil’s most successful black actresses of the past four decades. In the 2005 book Muito Prazer by Rodrigo Murat (Fundação Padre Anchieta), Motta recounts travelling to the United States in 1969 with a theater group of director Augusto Boal. At the time she was accustomed to wearing a straight, Chanel wig.When she arrived in Harlem, she met a group of African-American militants who were shocked at the sight of her wearing this wig. It was at a time when Black Power and “Black is Beautiful” were the slogans of the day. Besides wearing the wig, Motta was also accustomed to using a hot comb to straighten her hair. It was after this encounter with black Americans who were fully committed in accepting and promoting the black aesthetic that Motta began to assume herself as a black woman. As Motta put it: “I went out in the streets of Harlem and I noticed that black Americans walked with their heads held high. I didn’t have this subservient posture that I felt in Brazil and in myself. This trip had this importance (because) it made me see my country from the outside.”

Thus, 43 years ago, African-Americans helped an Afro-Brazilian woman find her identity and pride in her African-oriented features. 43 years later, another African-American, Beyonce, is influencing some Afro-Brazilians to return to the era of the suppression of the African aesthetic. Is this the path to success? Should this even be considered true success when socially oppressed groups accept the aesthetics imposed upon them by the very system that they once fought against? Or is this, as Rodrigues and many other women will argue, simply a question of hair maintenance? Another deep question. Think about that one.

On another topic, Rodrigues says that scenes from the Salve Jorge novela don’t continue with the stereotype of Brazil’s primarily Afro-Brazilian favelas. In a long post from a few weeks ago about the highly anticipated Globo TV series, Subúrbia(which featured a 90% black cast), that ended up descending into well-known stereotypical depictions of Afro-Brazilians, one of the characters we discussed was Jéssica as portrayed by actress, Ana Pérola. Here is what we wrote in that post:

“Speaking of her character, Ana Pérola herself describes the Jéssica character as “vulgar”, “full of attitude”, a woman who “uses sensuality well” and a total “periguete”. In Brazilian slang, a “periguete” is defined as a “woman that goes to the dances to enjoy herself, dance, drink and get with various guys at the same time; she is vulgar in how she dresses, how she speaks, walks and acts.” The type of woman known in African-American communities as a “hoochie”. The character is also a throwback to the old Brazilian stereotype of the “crazy black woman”, the “nega maluca.”

Rodrigues describes her character, Maria Vanúbia, as someone who “always shows her body and speaks full of gesture.” In most of the reviews of the series, Maria is described as a “periguete” (see news clipping above). I don’t know about you, but this sounds like a stereotype to me. And considering how black Brazilian women are portrayed in Brazil’s most popular novelas, is another “periguete” really a good look?

What’s your take on Roberta’s new look? Should women of African descent feel obligated to wear their hair in its natural state while other women have the freedom to experiment with various styles? How much does the standard of beauty of the opposite sex influence a woman’s look? For black girls who continue to feel a certain self-rejection of their natural features, are people like singer Beyonce and actress Roberta Rodrigues sending a negative message about self-acceptance or are they good representatives of individual freedom of expression? Feel free to leave a comment. Below are a few more photos of Roberta, both from the current TV series and over the years.

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4 comments on “Inspired by Beyoncé, actress Roberta Rodrigues straightens her hair and goes blonde; says guys are crazy about her new look”

I feel that she was a beautiful sista before the hair change and even after… It's just her comments about how people are treating her since she has changed her hair and how she has internalized it that is disheartening.Because as she said, straight her is a FETISH for not only men, but Black people in general. Because there has always been a stigma with our hair, and I don't think there is anything wrong with straightening your hair for style or look, but when you feel you have to wear your hair a certain way or wear specific kind of clothing to be liked or to consciously feel good about yourself, it's obviously a self-esteem and mental thing.Great article!

I'm a recent natural, 6mo. So all this is new to me but I love my natural and learning about. I wish I could say hair isn't a big deal,but it is especially when are in the public eye. Living in the U.S. we are just returning to the natural movement in large volumes and I had no idea until I returned natural myself. It think its great to be versitile w/ clothes or whatever, but ppl in the public eye need to be mindful of what changes they apply to their life and what they associate with those changes. Its just the price you have to pay for being famous. I agree w the lady above …….what I gather that the actress is saying that it seems like the hair is self esteem booster. I just hope she knows she is beautiful either way and to be mindfull of those who look to her as role model.

" To achieve this long-haired look, the actress enlisted the help of a weave that requires some caution: “I have to moisturize it a lot and use a special brush. All of the blonde parts are weave. I didn’t dye my hair because it would break everything and I could end up going bald!”SHE MAY WANT BLOND AND STRAIGHT HAIR but she also took some precautions by not dying it. Good for her.I think that everything that you doing with your body in term of beauty has to be your choice. But the problem is ARE WE SURE THAT IT IS OUR CHOICE?. THIS CASE is the perpetual example of US WOMEN IN GENERAL Black and white etc… because this BLOND AND STRAIGHT LOOK is also an obsession for White Women. WE WANT TO FOLLOW THE TREND AT ANY PRICE FOR ALL MEN ATTENTIONS TO HEAR THEM SAY WE ARE BEAUTIFUL, WE ARE SEXY BLAH BLAH BLAH. The funny thing is that she is talking about THE NEW ROBERTA. For me this is the OLD ROBERTA who still seems to have SOME kind of low self esteem since her childhood ( maybe i am wrong, just speculating). IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO GET RID OF THIS especially if you live in a country like Brazil where BLACK IS REALLY REALLY NOT SO BEAUTIFUL EVEN IN 2013 ( But where is the case anyway..lol). FOR ME The two differences between HER CHILDHOOD AND NOW IS THAT SHE CAN AFFORD THE BLOND HAIR WITHOUT DAMAGING TOO MUCH HER REAL HAIR ( she seems to be scared of baldness which maybe make her take a time before jumping into this radical change ) AND THE PHENOMENON BEYONCE because celebrities are the best excuse if you want to do something that maybe you feel inside "THAT IT IS NOT SO RIGHT"….IT IS THE BEST WAY TO DELEGATE YOUR OWN RESPONSIBILITY.WE ALL HAVE TO BE ROLE MODEL NOT JUST CELEBRITIES. You may not be in TV or Magazine etc… It does not change your responsibility towards your family and society.